50 Cent Best Of Vinyl

[Gabelo Camphire]

Ihave recently tried to save a little money by reusing some vinyl skirting around a revamped home. There are some color differences and MAN it was tough cutting and re-cutting trying to find the right size, etc not sure it is worth it! Now I have a lot of work into putting the skirting around the home but I need to paint it to have it look decent.

NOTE: This project uses latex balloons, which some people are allergic to. Please check with the recipient before gifting items involving latex to be safe! If the latex will be an issue, I recommend adding a custom vinyl design to mylar balloons.

TIP: If you are not sure how to upload an SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made. If you are on an iPad or iPhone, here is how to download and upload SVG files to the Cricut Design Space app.

Now, you can add any name and font you want! Click the Text icon on the left hand side of the screen. A box with "Text" highlighted in it will appear on the Canvas. Without clicking anything else, type in the name you want. I'll use "Alexa." Then, click the box that says "Cricut Sans" under Font in the top menu to see your font options.

Scroll through and click a font name to see how your name looks until you find one you like. If you click off of your name, click it to change the font or double-click to type in a new name. Make sure your font choice doesn't have a price next to it to avoid a charge when you go to cut the design. I'm going to use the font Tingler Print, which you can find a link to in the Notes. Use the font you like best.

Next, move the text box with the name you just typed into position under the word "Birthday." Change the color to match the word "Happy" if you want your colors to match mine. You can do this by clicking on the colored square in the top menu and selecting the blue swatch shown under "Material colors." You can also resize your name now if you'd like it bigger or smaller.

Now we're ready to cut! Select the correct machine in the top menu and click "Make It" to move to the Prepare screen. A pop-up window might appear asking how you want to load your materials. Select "On Mat" and click "Continue" unless you're using Smart Vinyl.

We're going to cut each of these nine elements apart before applying them to the balloon, so you may need to move them on the mats to add space for cutting them apart with scissors. Click on an element and drag it just enough to cut between each with a pair of scissors. Here's what my elements look like on my three mats after spacing them out.

Under "Set Base Material," choose "Premium Vinyl - Permanent Glossy," which means permanent vinyl. Make sure your Cricut Fine-Point Blade is clean and in Clamp B as indicated on the screen. I always change my Pressure to "More" for a cleaner cut.

Put your vinyl shiny side up on your machine mat, making sure it covers the design area visible on your screen. To see your design placement larger, click "Edit" below the mat thumbnail and "Done" when you're ready. Use a brayer to get the vinyl as smooth as possible on your mat.

Then, load your mat with your first color into your Cricut and press the flashing button to begin cutting. When the cut is complete, unload that mat, flip it over on your workspace, and gently bend it to release the vinyl and its carrier sheet, keeping the design as flat as possible. Load your next layer making sure to follow the order shown on your screen. Continue until all of your vinyl is cut.

Now we need to weed our designs. If you cut the decals from large vinyl sheets, trim the extra with scissors to use it for another project. With your weeding tool, remove all the vinyl around the letters and designs. Don't forget to remove the centers of any letters that have them, such as the "B" in "Birthday."

With the transfer tape in place, run a scraper tool or other hard and flat-edged item (like a store loyalty card) all over the decal's front and back with medium pressure. This is called burnishing and encourages the transfer tape to stick to the shiny side of the vinyl, moving the decal from the backing paper to the tape.

TIP: We can use the same piece of transfer tape for all nine pieces of our decal, saving us time and tape! This will also make it easier to remove the tape from the balloon, as a used piece of transfer tape is much less sticky than a new one.

If you're using ribbon, measure out enough to go around the sides of the box and make a bow at the front. For mine, I cut a piece about 39" long. Tie the ribbon and keep the bow in place with a dot of hot glue.

Reassemble the decorations around the stick. I used tissue paper from the package in my materials list, but feel free to experiment. You could also fill yours with silk or paper flowers, candy, or even small toys or gifts. Feel free to hot glue the fillers and tissue paper in place.

First, we need to stretch our Bobo balloon to help it reach its maximum size when we blow it up for real. Hold the balloon in both hands and pull it tightly in opposite directions. Go around the entire perimeter of the balloon, stretching it as you go. Repeat several times. When you're done, your balloon will look very wrinkly. This is what we want!

TIP: To help make your balloon even larger, you can add some air to it now, and then release the air right away. Adding air until it's no longer wrinkly helps to expand the plastic material and makes it easier to blow up later.

Repeat for three to five more small balloons. Once you have a couple blown up inside the big balloon, it will start getting crowded and you may need to add some air to the Bobo balloon itself. Add only enough air to give the small balloons some room and allow space for more balloons. If you want to add confetti or other non-sharp decorations to the Bobo, this is a good time to do it.

TIP: I kept air in the Bobo balloon using a binder clip or clothes pin to hold it closed. This allowed me to use both hands to get my next latex balloon attached to the air pump and ready to go. And stretch my hands! Don't worry if some of the air escapes while you're placing your next balloon inside. Your Bobo balloon will expand with each new balloon and you can add more air as needed.

Once you have your small balloons inside, you can blow up the Bobo balloon to your desired size. For our design to look straight, the Bobo balloon needs to be more of a circle than an egg shape. Since the balloon is so strong, we can shape it a bit while blowing it up!

Hold the end of the Bobo balloon tightly and remove the pump, making sure you don't let the air escape. Twist the end several times before tying it off. Tie it as tightly as you can. I tied an uninflated latex balloon in a knot above the Bobo's balloon's knot to secure it even more.

Check to make sure your balloon is centered on your work surface by locating the seams on each side. One seam should be on the left side of the balloon and the other should be on the right, and they should be level with each other when you look at the balloon from the bottom where it's tied.

With your inflated balloon lying flat on your work surface, attach one piece of tape to each side of the balloon and another to the top. Then attach the opposite ends of the tape to your work surface, pulling them tightly enough to keep the balloon from moving around.

Now that your balloon is secure, let's mark the center to help with application. Look at your balloon from above and use your best judgment to determine where the horizontal center is. Place a small, square piece of tape on the balloon in that spot. Measure the distance from the left seam to the piece of tape and the distance from the right seam to the tape. These distances should match. If they don't, carefully remove your tape and reposition it accordingly.

We also want the decal to be centered from top to bottom. Measure the distance from the top seam to the tape and then from the knot to the tape. These distances should also match. If they don't, carefully remove your tape and reposition it again.

TIP: It helps to have a printout of your design next to you for reference when positioning your words and designs on the balloon. You could also have your computer nearby with your design open on your Design Space Canvas.

Next, apply the name you chose underneath the word "Birthday." The three words will be centered with each other in the middle of the balloon. After you've applied the words, add the red sparkles. You can use your design printout or Canvas to help with the layout.

Finally, apply the stars. The small stars go on either side of your name. The sets of stars go to the left and right of the words "Happy Birthday," with the large stars at the top on either side of "Happy."

For the first method, I cut two pieces of ribbon to 46" each. Attach one end of each ribbon to the left and right sides of the inside top of your gift box with glue dots or tape. Wrap the ribbons up the sides of the balloon and tie them in a bow at the very top. Trim the excess tails if you like.

That's it! You've finished your custom balloon bouquet and can now display it at a birthday party or give it as a thoughtful handmade gift to a friend or family member. Here is what my finished bouquet looks like. I just love how unique and colorful it is!

Balloon bouquets make great gifts for all kinds of occasions. You could make one with flowers for Mother's Day, one with candy for Valentine's Day, or one with fairy lights wrapped around it as a centerpiece for a wedding. You could even add things like confetti, flowers, tissue paper, feathers, or pom poms inside your Bobo balloon instead of, or in addition to, your small balloons. There are so many options for customizing your bouquet, and I'd love to see what you come up with!

In addition to small balloons, you can also add confetti, pom poms, and even small stuffed animals to the large Bobo balloon. You can get inspiration by looking at the combinations balloon delivery services offer!

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